Dinny Phipps to be honored with Mack Award

Jockey Club chairman and Thoroughbred owner-breeder Ogden Mills “Dinny” Phipps will receive the Earle Mack Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation Champion Award for his efforts in the areas of Thoroughbred racehorse welfare, safety, and retirement, the TRF announced Tuesday.

Phipps, a Jockey Club member since 1965 and its chairman since 1977, will receive the award at the TRF’s annual gala event in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on Aug. 5.

“Dinny Phipps has lived a life of commitment and responsibility to Thoroughbreds,” said Mack, a Thoroughbred owner, senior partner in The Mack Company real estate development firm, and TRF supporter. “Under his chairmanship, The Jockey Club has taken a leading role in moving the industry to deal with the complex issued faced in dealing with Thoroughbred racehorses when their racing careers are over.”

Last year, The Jockey Club launched Thoroughbred Connect, a free online service that can help match retiring Thoroughbred racehorses with willing adopters. The organization also was a founding supporter of the new Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, which aims to serve as an accrediting and fundraising body for aftercare facilities. Other TJC retirement-related initiatives include the 2009 retirement check-off program, through which breeders and owners can donate to aftercare groups when they register their foals. In 2008, TJC formed the Equine Injury Database, the first national database of racing injuries, two years after hosting its first Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit.